Serialele noi si vechi

Unul dintre cele mai bune seriale din ultima vreme este The Handmaid’s Tale/ Povestea Slujitoarei, o ecranizare a romanului lui Margaret Atwood. Daca nu ati urmarit primul sezon, o sa va spun ca este o distopie localizata intr-o America (Gilead) trecuta printr-un razboi civil si o criza de fertilitate mondiala.  Noul regim totalitar fundamentalist-crestin impune o noua ordine sociala, iar criza de fertilitate lasa doar cateva femei capabile de a face copii. Femeile sunt the handmaids = slujitoare, iar la cativa ani sunt trimise intr-o noua familie infertila si obligate sa faca sex in speranta ca vor face copii pentru cuplul ales.

Inca din primele episoade intelegi ca societatea descrisa in film este una profund anti-feminista. Criza fertilitatii afecteaza intreaga comunitate, atat barbatii cat si femeile, insa doar ele sunt considerate “vinovate”. Barbat steril nu exista, ci doar femei infertile. Tot ele sunt eliminate sistematic din toate pozitiile de conducere si restranse intr-un rol domestic extrem de limitat. Sunt concediate si conturile bancare le sunt sterse complet. Sunt supervizate constant si decredibilizate. Nu am sa intru in detalii, pentru ca filmul picteaza extrem de realist teroarea impusa de acest regim, traumele prin care trec slujitoarele, frica majoritatii cetatenilor, obedienta conspiratorilor, efectiv toate sunt foarte bine portretizate si analizate.

Imi place foarte mult The Handmaid’s Tale pentru ca ia niste lucruri pe care le vedem si noi, la societatea in care traim in prezent, care acum ni se par mici focuri si le hraneste cu mult, mult oxigen si benzina. Intretine si duce pana la capat gandurile fundamentalistilor nationalisti si iti arata cum ar fi daca ar fi. Distopia filmului porneste cu o analogie usor de facut: cineva improbabil castiga alegerile si usor-usor drepturile cetatenilor sunt restranse pana in punctul in care nimeni nu mai poate face absolut nimic si cosmarul incepe. Constructia este atat de verosimila, incat nu te poti desprinde de televizor si astepti cu infrigurare inca un episod si inca un episod. E unul dintre serialele mele preferate dintotdeauna, mai ales datorita atmosferei care il defineste. Jocul impecabil al actorilor, imaginea desaturata si grafica, costumele, decorurile si, desigur, povestea – care te obliga mereu sa faci acest pendul intre fictiune si realitate – te determina sa vezi acest serial (aproape cu constiinciozitatea unei “ceremonii”), mai ales daca esti consumator al acestui gen de produs.

Eu am adunat cateva detalii interesante despre serial mai jos. Daca nu v-ati uitat inca la primul sezon, nu stiu ce mai asteptati, iar daca sunteti deja “prinsi”, sezonul 2  din The Handmaid’s Tale/ Povestea Slujitoarei vine pe HBO Go pe 27 aprilie.

 – Robele si rochiile purtate de handmaids sunt rosii, ca aluzie la hainele purtate de Maria Magdalena, in timp de hainele albastre purtate de sotiile sterpe sunt o interpretare a puritatii Fecioarei Maria.

– Aceasta nu este prima ecranizare a romanului lui Atwood: exista un lungmetraj facut in 1990!

– Daca nu v-ati uitat inca la serial, numele personajelor va vor soca si ele. Offred, Ofglen si Oferic sunt de fapt nume compuse: “of fred” “of eric” adica A lui Fred/ a lui Eric. Slujitoarele devin, in absolut toate sensurile, proprietate si sunt dezumanizate pana in punctul in care nici macar nu au nume, doar stapani.

– Atwood nu considera cartea ei fictiune: “Tot ce am scris se intampla la momentul respectiv sau s-a intamplat deja undeva in lume“. Mie acest citat mi-a facut pielea de gaina, pentru ca sunt o multime de puncte de legatura intre regimurile totalitare si cel descris in Gilead (SUA din serial). Comunismul prin care a trecut Romania restrangea drepturile femeilor: desi erau prea-marite in cultura populara, femeile nu aveau drept de decizie asupra propriului corp, metodele contraceptive si avortul fiind ilegale. Mai mult decat atat, am servit si ca sursa de inspiratie pentru ca Atwood a listat ca documentatie Romania sub Ceausescu, America puritana a secolului 17 si poligamia. Doar sa nu ne mai intoarcem acolo….

The Handmaid’s Tale, primul sezon poate fi vizionat integral pe HBO GO, iar premiera celui de-al doilea sezon are loc pe 27 aprilie. Astfel, sezonul nou poate fi vazut pe HBO GO imediat dupa​ premiera din US​.

Va puteti face cont direct pe HBO GO, prima luna fiind gratis, iar abonamentul lunar de 19,99 lei /luna. Serialele si filmele originale HBO, plus alte seriale de la diferite studiouri, au premiera in acelasi timp cu cea din State. Astia chiar sunt bani bine investiti.

EN: One of the best TV series lately is The Handmaid’s Tale, after the novel by Margaret Atwood. If you haven’t seen the first season yet, I will tell you that it’s a dystopia located in an America (Gilead) which went through a civil war and world fertility crisis. The new fundamentalist- Christian totalitarian regime imposes a new social order, and the fertility crisis only leaves a few women capable of having children. The women are handmaids, and every few years they are sent into a new infertile family and forced to have sex in the hope that they will conceive a child for the chosen couple.

Ever since the first episodes you understand that the society depicted in the film is a profoundly anti-feminist one. The fertility crisis affects the entire community, both men and women, but only the latter are considered “guilty”. There is no such thing as a sterile man, only sterile women. It’s also them that are systematically eliminated from all leadership positions and reduced to an extremely limited housewife role. They are fired and their bank accounts are completely deleted. They are constantly supervised and deprived of their credibility. I won’t go into further details, because the film paints an extremely realistic picture of the terror imposed by this regime, of the trauma that the handmaids have to go through, of the fear of the majority of citizens, the obedience of the conspirators, basically everything is very well portrayed and analyzed.

I really like The Handmaid’s Tale because it takes things we can also observe in the society we live in, which now seem like small flames and it fuels them with lots and lots of oxygen and gas.   It keeps alive and takes further the thoughts of nationalist fundamentalists and shows you what it would be like if. The dystopia of the film begins with a very easy to do analogy: someone improbable wins the elections and slowly the citizens’ rights are limited up until the point where no one can do absolutely anything about it and the nightmare begins.  The construction is so plausible, that you can’t stop watching and you anxiously await yet another episode. It has always been one of my favorite TV series, especially due to the atmosphere which defines it. The impeccable acting, the non saturated and graphic image, the costumes, the décor and, of course, the story- which forces you to constantly go back and forth from fiction to reality- determine you to watch this series (almost “religiously”), especially if you’re a fan of the genre.  

I have gathered a few interesting details about the TV series and you can find them below. If you haven’t seen the first season yet, I don’t know what you’re waiting for, and if you’re already “hooked”, season of 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale is available on HBO Go beginning with the 27th of April.  

 – The robes and dresses worn by the handmaids are red, as an innuendo to the clothes worn by Maria Magdalena, while the blue clothes worn by the infertile wives are an interpretation of the purity of the Virgin Mary.

– This isn’t the first film made after Atwood’s novel: there is a motion picture from 1990!

– If you haven’t seen the series yet, you’ll also be shocked by the characters’ names. Offred, Ofglen and Oferic are actually made up by: “of Fred” “of Eric”. The handmaids become a property in absolutely every sense and are deprived of their humanity up until the point where they don’t even have names anymore, only masters.

– Atwood doesn’t consider her book to be fiction: “Everything I wrote was happening at that time or had already happened somewhere in the world.” This quote gave me goosebumps, because there are many connection points between totalitarian regimes and the one described in  Gilead (USA in the series). The communism Romania went through would also limit women’s rights: even though they were highly praised in the popular culture, they had no  right to decide over their own bodies, birth control methods and abortion being illegal. More than that, we have also served as a source of inspiration because Atwood listed Romania under Ceausescu as documentation, alongside puritan America in the 17th century and polygamy. But let’s never go back there…

The Handmaid’s Tale, the first season can be watched entirely on HBO GO, and the second season premieres on April 27th. So, the new season can be seen on HBO GO right after the US premiere.

You can create an account on HBO GO, the first month is free, and the monthly pay is 19,99 lei. HBO original series and movies, plus other series from different studios, premiere at the same time with the US. This really is money well spent.